Town Council Establishes Enterprise Fund for Ferry

By Sue Ellen Woodcock

An enterprise fund has been set up for the operation of the proposed Winthrop –Boston ferry service set to begin in earnest next spring.

The Town Council set up a fund Tuesday night with $125,000 to cover the estimated expenses. In the future the sale of tickets for the ferry service will generate funding for the service. Last April the council approved $50,000 to go toward building the ferry.

The town has already had a ferry built in Maryland by Evans Boats and goes by the name of Valkyrie. It requires a Coast Guard inspection before it can be sailed  to Winthrop. Officials hope that the ferry might arrive next week.

In other business:

• Town Manager James McKenna wrote to the Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Carol Sanchez about the deplorable conditions at Winthrop Beach. He noted that the Town of Winthrop will not accept the incomplete result at the beach and demands the beach be restored to its previous sandy state. He noted that the current cobbles on the beach make the beach unusable. “The citizens of Winthrop do not wish to see this project languish with a grade of ‘incomplete’.”
• McKenna noted that people should see a difference around town in the street lighting. As part of a project with Sylvania the street lights have been change to LED lighting, giving a brighter more focused light.
• A $600,000 request for renovation of the rink roof, locker rooms and a $125,000 request for new Zamboni ice cleaning machine was referred to the finance sub-committee.